NJ: More indie warnings
Posted: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 8:14 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
2009
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
Like in Virginia, Democrats nationally should be concerned about some of what they're seeing in these exit polls in New Jersey. Again, independent voters went overwhelmingly for the Republican, and there was a significant youth vote dropoff.
In 2008, Obama won independents in New Jersey, 51%-47%. But this year, independents flocked to Republican Chris Christie, 58%-31%, instead of incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine.
Young voters (18-29) made up almost one in five New Jersey voters in 2008 (17%). In this race, they made up just a meek 9%, less than one-in-10 voters.
By contrast, and similar to Virginia, older voters (65+) made up a bigger slice of the electorate in this election, one-in-five voters (20%). In 2008, they made up 15%.
Black and Hispanic voters, though, actually were a larger percentage of the electorate in this election. Black voters made up 15% this time around; in 2008, they were 12% -- with the first would-be black president on the ballot. Hispanic voters were 9% in 2008 and 10% this time around.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: The exit poll data have been updated with slight changes; the above post has been adjusted accordingly.]
